← Back to Reviews
in
When I was a kid, I thought Ice Man was the coolest character, it made me a fan of Val Kilmer. Re-watching Top Gun, I can confirm that Ice Man still is the coolest character and one I would have loved to follow him a bit more than Maverick. Top Gun 2 is coming our way, so a re-visit was needed, I probably didn't need to.
Coincidentally, this is the second Val Kilmer movie I watched this month. Maybe I'll do a marathon for him, as I feel he is underrated. His onset drama overshadowed his talents. Kilmer offers us someone who is interesting both in the air and on the ground. The same can't be said for any other character really. That's where Top Gun falls miraculously short. It nails the high-flying action sequences, but crashes and burns when it comes to story and characters. Even the emotional tug on the heart strings when one character bites the dust, isn't enough to shed a tear.
Tony Scott is known more for his visual style than anything else. He's incorporated some interesting camera techniques later in his career. I can't fault him too much for wanting the film to look cool, but it caters to a generic low denominator. It was the biggest hit in 1986, making over $175 million. I'll give someone a cookie if they can guess #2 without looking it up. If you get it right, I'll just assume you looked it up.
I was surprised at how forced and unnatural the romance between Cruise and Kelly McGillis turned out to be. It felt like it needed a bit more push and pull from them, although I will point out that Cruise following her into the women's washroom is a bit much and would be considered stalker-ish. But hey, he's good looking, charming and wearing a uniform,so let's ignore that right?
Top Gun is exciting, but doesn't offer much of anything else, which might be why so many people are digging for some kind of subtext when there is none. Homoerotic undertones I believe was the big debate, but Scott obviously just wanted a film about planes looking cool in the sky. Mission Accomplished.
Top Gun
(Tony Scott)
(Tony Scott)
When I was a kid, I thought Ice Man was the coolest character, it made me a fan of Val Kilmer. Re-watching Top Gun, I can confirm that Ice Man still is the coolest character and one I would have loved to follow him a bit more than Maverick. Top Gun 2 is coming our way, so a re-visit was needed, I probably didn't need to.
Coincidentally, this is the second Val Kilmer movie I watched this month. Maybe I'll do a marathon for him, as I feel he is underrated. His onset drama overshadowed his talents. Kilmer offers us someone who is interesting both in the air and on the ground. The same can't be said for any other character really. That's where Top Gun falls miraculously short. It nails the high-flying action sequences, but crashes and burns when it comes to story and characters. Even the emotional tug on the heart strings when one character bites the dust, isn't enough to shed a tear.
Tony Scott is known more for his visual style than anything else. He's incorporated some interesting camera techniques later in his career. I can't fault him too much for wanting the film to look cool, but it caters to a generic low denominator. It was the biggest hit in 1986, making over $175 million. I'll give someone a cookie if they can guess #2 without looking it up. If you get it right, I'll just assume you looked it up.
I was surprised at how forced and unnatural the romance between Cruise and Kelly McGillis turned out to be. It felt like it needed a bit more push and pull from them, although I will point out that Cruise following her into the women's washroom is a bit much and would be considered stalker-ish. But hey, he's good looking, charming and wearing a uniform,so let's ignore that right?
Top Gun is exciting, but doesn't offer much of anything else, which might be why so many people are digging for some kind of subtext when there is none. Homoerotic undertones I believe was the big debate, but Scott obviously just wanted a film about planes looking cool in the sky. Mission Accomplished.